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Used widely in the past in the further education sector to describe the arrangement whereby trainees in employment attend a college or similar training organization for one day a week to develop their vocational skills and gain an appropriate qualification. The employer releases them from work for that day, on the condition that they attend such training, and, in addition, the employer normally pays their fees. The term is now less frequently used, having been replaced by the expression off‐the‐job training. This change of terminology followed the introduction of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), which provided greater opportunities for what was referred to as on‐the‐job training and assessment. Prior to the introduction of NVQs, the curriculum for day release students often included a lesson of liberal studies as well as training in the vocational knowledge and skills relevant to their employment.